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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> CSLR Challenge 81: Simplicity (Host: Jim Harrison) >> Eligible > 6th Place
Blues at Night
by Mary Anne
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17-NOV-2006 Mary Anne

6th Place
Blues at Night
by Mary Anne

I shot this from the balcony with the kit lens at ISO 1600, so I really can't do much more cropping. However, I wonder if I should either clone out the jacket beneath his elbow (I prefer the shot at least somewhat vertical), or whether I should crop it there and make the image more horizontal.

Canon EOS 350D ,Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
1/50s f/7.1 at 55.0mm iso1600 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time17-Nov-2006 20:36:17
MakeCanon
ModelCanon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length55 mm
Exposure Time1/50 sec
Aperturef/7.1
ISO Equivalent1600
Exposure Bias
White Balance
Metering Modematrix (5)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programprogram (1)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Guest 27-Nov-2006 23:20
Wonderful capture, great mood. I too like the space you've added to the right. -Michael
Canon DSLR Challenge27-Nov-2006 02:17
Thanks, Najinsky. I tried cropping it out and cloning it out, but the image seemed to need the jacket to anchor the musician in place. I did, however, darken the part of the jacket below his elbow because it was catching too much light. I appreciate your suggestion.
--Mary Anne
Canon DSLR Challenge27-Nov-2006 01:35
I liked the idea of cloning the bottom of the jacket out. Did you try it? (looks great as is btw). -Najinsky
Canon DSLR Challenge26-Nov-2006 18:49
Thanks, Victor. I could barely see those lines on my monitor, but I think I've got all of them now. BTW before your suggested addition, I didn't know that Photoshop would allow me to extend the image beyond its original bounds, so now I've learned something new, thanks to you.
--Mary Anne
Canon DSLR Challenge26-Nov-2006 15:19
I agree. This is better. However, I think the vertical lines resulting from the cloning should be removed. By the way, the composition I suggested, below, was not a specific composition suggestion, but a general idea, to illustrate where the additional space should be. I simply arbitrarily doubled the cavass size without regard to how it looked. -- Victor
Canon DSLR Challenge26-Nov-2006 14:05
I like this a lot more, great comp... Regards ~ Bob
Canon DSLR Challenge24-Nov-2006 18:52
Forgot to add that it looks great as is [aam1234]
Canon DSLR Challenge24-Nov-2006 15:24
Mary Anne, I don't feel comfortable posting other peoples' entries. What I did was just darken it a bit with levels to cool the hot areas a little. That's it. And there are not many hot areas really, it was a minor thing. Try it and see if it works for you.

[aam1234]
Canon DSLR Challenge24-Nov-2006 02:20
Thanks, Cat. Aam, you can post a smaller version of it in Pending and then link to it in a new comment. If you want it to show in your comment, just add .jpg to the end of the link. I'd like to see what you've done.
--Mary Anne
Canon DSLR Challenge23-Nov-2006 22:11
Looks nice, wonderfully composed! -Cat
Canon DSLR Challenge23-Nov-2006 19:31
Mary Anne, I liked this photo so much that I took the liberty of playing with it a bit. By a "bit" I mean like 3 seconds. If interested I can email it to you (need your email) or you can give me permission to post it here (don't know how though, need help).

Awaiting your response [aam1234]
Canon DSLR Challenge23-Nov-2006 17:28
Well, I've thought about the various suggestions and played around it a bit and finally decided to add more negative space to the right, although not as much as Victor would have. I think this is an improvement. Thanks so much.
--Mary Anne
Canon DSLR Challenge23-Nov-2006 15:18
Yes I agree with Victor's idea of more neg. space to the right. That gives me the feeling that there is a great crowd out there and produces a more powerful impact.

As it is I feel the crop is too severe horizontally, it tends to 'stifle' the sound that one would expect from this instrument. (in an artistic way of thinking of course!)

Love the mood, the lighting and I wouldn't crop any of his jacket. Regards, Bob
Canon DSLR Challenge22-Nov-2006 22:27
I think the composition is great as it is. Works very nicely in the rule of thirds. As for Victor's suggestion, that is very intersting as well - makes us anticipate the intense noise that it about to be expelled from the horn, and gives it plenty of room to handle it. Additionally, the extra space makes it a wonderful place to put some ad copy. However, this crop is very well done. ~ Lonnit
Victor Engel22-Nov-2006 04:37
Maybe you should go the other way. I wasn't careful with composition, but how about something along these lines? -- Victor
elips22-Nov-2006 03:59
Mary Anne, this is really wonderful! I see what you are saying about the composition as it is pretty square this way but his posture, his attitude, is so much what he is about that I wouldn't crop or clone any of it out. I like it very much just the way it is. Except I would clone out the faint bit of light on the right edge just beyond the bell of the trumpet. Good work! ~Sharon